Category Archives: Culture

NOH8 Cindy

Noh8  Cindy McCain has posed for an ad released by the NOH8 campaign, a pro-gay-marriage effort that pictures celebrities with their mouths taped shut. McCain appears in the usual format: dressed in white, with "NOH8" painted on her cheek and silver duct tape across her mouth. 

John McCain opposed gay marriage during his 2008 presidential run, and his wife rarely speaks out on particular issues. McCain's office issued a statement saying that the senator respects differences of opinion between his family members, but still "believes the sanctity of marriage is only defined as between one man and one woman."

Or perhaps "between one man and one woman who thinks her husband is an idiot."?
 

Tom Ford on Becoming Post Human

Tomford So, I just heard Teri Gross interview with Tom Ford about his new movie adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's story "A Single Man." Gross also asked for his opinion on the state of fashion.  He made some comments about the current state of fashion and how we imagine the body these days.  I went back to the audio to capture it.  Fascinating comments:

"Right now everything is pumped up.  Cars look like someone took an air pump and pumped them up. They look engorged.  Lips, pumped up.  Breasts, pumped up.  Everything is pumped up. And it's also kind of offputting.  It's sexual but in such a hard way that it's, for me, not sexual at all…

We are becoming post-human.  Actually we are!  We are actually starting to manipulate bodies, because we can, into a shape.  We are becoming our own art.  What happens for me is it desexualizes everything.  You know you start to become more polished or more lacquered, like a beautiful car.  Does anyone want to sleep with you?  Does anyone want to touch you?  Does anyone want to kiss you?  Maybe not, because you're too scary!  But, you're beautiful, you're glossy, you're shiny, but you're not human.  Very interesting. It's fascinating culturally."  Tom Ford in his interviewed by Teri Gross's Fresh Air


World AIDS Day

AIDS ribbon It's World AIDS Day. 

That's nice.

…and I'm reminded of some Black comic's comment about February being "African American History Month"…"typical…we get the shortest month."

Which is to say, one day to remember is woefully shy of the task. 

I remain angry at the homophobic, puritanical, punishing, sex-fearing, "christian" response to HIV-AIDS. And how long it took Ronald Reagan to even say the word "AIDS" (and that it took the death of a closeted movie star and a heroic Elizabeth Taylor to finally get him to utter it.) I remain angry at the idea of "innocent victims" of this disease. 

I remain angry at how little memory there is for how Gay people responded to this, growing up, growing together, growing institutions. How little memory there is for how Gay people fed and sheltered and cared for one another…and angry that my friends are still sero-converting in 2009.

I remain angry at how brutally expensive AIDS meds are in the U.S. (and how cheap they are elsewhere) while the nimrods and the bloviators and the moralizing hypocrites in the Congress (yeah…I'm talking to you Joe Lieberman!…you ugly asswipe!) squash a public option…the only real way to provide competition to the profit-seeking, blood-sucking insurance companies…that would provide healthcare coverage for every American citizen, just like every other industrialized nation in the world! 

Shame on the Senate. Shame on our elected officials. 

Shame on the churches who came so late to the aid of the neediest and who still foment discrimination against gay people.

And every time I hear another fear-mongering "news" report on H1N1 and the vast over-reaction to it (several thousand people die from the flu annually, H1N1 or not) and how people with HIV were shunned by their communities, deserted by their families and died in fear, it makes me want to break something. And it makes me wonder …it makes me sad… to think of how things might have been different if the reaction when "Gay cancer" first appeared had been anything approaching the H1N1 hysteria.

Bea Arthur: Hero

Bea The Ali Forney Center in New York City, received a gift of $300,000 today, from the Estate of 
legendary actress Bea Arthur.
 
The Ali Forney Center, the nation's largest organization dedicated to homeless 
LGBT youth, announced at Bea Arthur's Memorial Service on September 14th that 
they planned to purchase a building to house 12 youths and name it her honor. 
 
"We work with hundreds of young people who are rejected by their families 
because of who they are. We are overwhelmed with gratitude that Bea saw that 
LGBT youth deserve as much love and support as any other young person, and that 
she placed so much value in the work we do to protect them, and to help them 
rebuild their lives." says Executive Director Carl Siciliano.
The Ali Forney Center offers emergency shelter and transitional housing in seven residential sites in NYC 
and operates two drop-in centers offering food, clothing, medical and mental health treatment, HIV testing, 
treatment and prevention services, and vocational and educational assistance. It provides 
services to over 1000 young people each year.


RISE UP & SHOUT… RISES AGAIN!

Rise up poster 2009 A couple of years ago, White Crane was the beneficiary of this wonderful event, that was filmed by Brian Gleason and made into a wonderful documentary Rise Up & Shout!

Well…they're doing it again. If you're anywhere near Los Angeles, Rise Up & Shout! is a wonderful, feel-good evening. This is sponsored by The Gay Men's Medicine Circle in Los Angeles.

Tickets are $25 and vailable at BGTix.com 

GO! RISE! SHOUT!